Benthayer Gonbak

Thanks, what I had found when said there wasn’t enough data to determine cause and effect rather than coincidence. They did mention to stay with known brands though.

i was interested in the mask because I have a hard time not breathing through my nose. But, yes, I’d prefer to be rejected because of my mask rather than my age. For what it is worth, the trip I was on did not offer any masks as I recall. I’d be interested in finding the list of the masks that are dangerous if you can help find the link.

It took me less than about 10 breathes to feel claustrophobic and like I couldn’t breath! While breathing your own CO2 is therapeutic for hyperventilation, even that treatment is short lived and uses a paper bag. Thank you both for pointing out my reactions to a full face mask has scientific data, and unfortunately deaths that say I’m not just too weak of a breather!

Okay, but I didn’t find Rome all that large! But yes, volume could matter unless they are proportionally still short workers.

i taught clogging for several years, but I was much younger than your Mom! We taught line dances at the senior centers where we performed.

oh my, that’s a little bit much for San Diego! But yes, I know Newport beach is a bit north. I’ve stayed in Redondo beach several times, but there was a jetty that made the water look calm. As for spinning Dad can still do 25-30 minutes at 97. He had to give up the gym because of COVID but has a bike at home. i get frustrated when I can’t get enough information about a tour. Azamara used to be excellent about knowing those answers. On celebrity in Roseau there were pictures of the walk/hike to the waterfall overlook. There were railroad ties with sand surfaces that made steps. When we got there it was all tree roots, turned out there had been heavy rains that had washed the steps out. I still made it and I made sure to tell shore the description picture needed updating! The trail was still nice and still only cruise moderate.

i had in mind the cycling machines, but then I was thinking bicycle tours! when I was in college I applied for a life guard position in San Diego. I was told that they only hired men because the life guards sometimes got rotated to the beach and women couldn’t handle the surf! Clearly they’d never met many of the PE teachers and majors I knew! It seemed to me like testing for life guard certification one need only add a surf certification!

I’m glad to hear some have succeeded. I now find the highlight tours which just have photo stop more tiring than walking tours as most of your time is spent getting on and off busses that’s not only tiresome it’s boring! I’ve only tried a few, but actual never really liked them!

i hear you although I’ve seen a few with canes. When I was able I used hiking sticks rather than a cane which was for balance. My argument is just because I can no longer do some activities doesn’t mean others can’t! Age is not what slowed me down! I do think that age restrictions can eliminate a tour because there then aren’t enough people to take on the harder treks successfully. I have not selected tours that I could do because I was pretty sure I would not be able to do the pace set by the group, one was in the Galapagos.

We had a long layover in AbuDhabi where we left the airport. We left banned drugs in the suitcase that were still airside as we were told that was no problem, it wasn’t. as for counties not seeming to care about the protocols you’ve tried to adhere to we found that in Japan. We began in Japan and had a cruise of 60 days where some drugs were limited to 30. We did all the work, had the spears and immigrations seemed to not know what the papers were! My suspicion is that obvious tourist, an probably some profiling keeps most people out of trouble. It’s still worth knowing high drugs are questionable, and to be prepared. As I recall bipolar meds were on the UAE list, those are not drugs I would encourage anyone to stop, nor would I think that the country would like the results!

We boarded in Athen so didn’t have to deal with visas at the airport in Dubai. A word of caution. The UAE has some rather strict rules about medications which include Tylenol PM! There are some horror stories about seamen and expats arriving with not only drugs on the banned list, but with 90-120 days supply. They may forgive you with 20 days supplies according to some reports, but I’d check out the list at least.

bicycles and Caribbean zip lines are the only places I’ve seen age limits. Yes, I think the description was online so we knew which ones were limited. i can tell you though, mistakes happen. I signed up for a hike in Isle of Man which was a new port. The trail was described as rough, which I interpreted from the rest was sort of a Billy goat trail. It was listed as a .5 hike that took 2.5 hours and I believe moderate. I figured I could crawl that far in that length of time if I had too. Shortly after we got on board we receive a description that said the length was 5 miles. I took the paper down to shore, who knew me, and before I could ask if this was correct or the first one they pleaded with me please don’t go. I assured them if it was 5 miles I had no intension of going with that terrain. It also turned out the moderate rating was not the ships but the local level! I heard it was indeed strenuous by cruise ship standards, the 5 miles would generally cause that rating too. Those that went seemed to enjoy the hike but fog prevented the views.

Got it. Please know that I appreciated your comment. My mind jumped to our guide on a land tour that regularly ran in the alps, especially high altitudes, for conditioning. on my first Azamara I had a rollator which gave the shore people pause for Ephesus. They let me go and after watching me there said they’d not protest anything else I wanted to try! I told them I still needed their input about problems. Since that time my knee has been replaced, but at the time I could walk reasonably well except for balance. Note too that Ephesus is certainly not flat enough for most people with rollators😉

I should add there was one couple that applied for the longer visa, which didn’t arrive in time. They however had dual citizenship and had another passport. I don’t recall if they entered India or not, I’m thinking they weren’t worried about it as the planned another trip that the longer visa was needed for.

We did this some years back, at least India. We were required to get visas ourselves. Then there was an arrangement such that multiple ports still counted as a single entry. However, not everything ran smoothly, India decided to do face to face immigrations and I assume Azamara asked to do that onboard which was granted. That part worked well. What didn’t work well was several consulates had told passengers they didn’t need a visa. The consulates even wrote letters stating that they would not be required to get a visa. As you can guess the immigration officers were having none of that. They argued too that the consulates couldn’t tell them what to do etc. of course, passengers were upset and there wasn’t much Azamara could do. Azamara did however give them free tours in the next port but that was a lousy consolation. I didn’t hear whether there were other concessions, but I wouldn’t put it past Azamara to have given passengers FCCs, long before anyone had heard the term.

when I did the Grand Canyon, only part way, we met most of the Sierra Club returning from already reaching the bottom! Many looked in their late 70s. As for rescues, I mostly did canoeing, including whitewater. Our club did a training on rescue that was done so well that we were buzzed several times by a helicopter. The Forest Service had been notified, but it didn’t occur to anyone to notify the group that flew over! We waved them off, but they came back a couple of times presumably until they notified the Forest Service! Most of what we needed was rescue equipment, but yes almost everyone also had a space blanket too! There are some interesting rescue methods that have been used for dams, the Fire Department in I believe Ohio had successfully master them. They did however require a conscious boater! The wilderness trips I led, as a counselor, showed young teens that they gain strength quickly. Toward the end of the trip they were always amused by the college guys that couldn’t portage what they now could! Was the glacier hike I Juneau? 50 yo seems a bit low.

I think you could easily find a bike tour in the Netherlands that would definitely get you back to the ship on time. They might also have an age limit though. I agree about needing to use OBC.

i originally state it was insurance. My point was that to determine or discriminate which people are good risks doesn’t have to be by age. And, discriminating does not have to have the negative connotations discrimination has. There are other methods to separate those worth risking besides age that insurance companies use. Our auto insurance does not go up by age, it is distance driven and number of previous accidents. Most-likely it also includes credit rating, as has been reported in numerous news reports. in Australia near the barrier reefs which had just been severely damaged by a cyclone they used waivers for those over 70, if I recall correctly. Everyone signed a waiver, but there was an addition waiver which sort of read like an against medical advice. i actually met the age requirement but believed that I wouldn’t be able to do a longish tour at speed. I’d hope that age is not the only discriminator, at least!

i was apalled actually! While I didn’t really qualify for other reasons, I did push back on the age as a poor way to discriminate those who shouldn’t go! my Dad’s balance is bad now, but he can still ride a stationary bike for more than 30 minutes. He’s 97! I can make 5-10 minutes😂

As I recall it was either 70 or 72 max. I was told because of the insurance. I certainly know more than a few 70 year olds that could out do many 40 year olds, some were on our Machu Picchu trip.

At one time Venice wouldn’t check you in before two hours, internationally or not. And yes Southwest in the US used to not check you in before a certain time either. But, I’m not sure how this changes my point since 9:50 is just 2 hours before. in Rome with a 3 hour international lead we really didn’t have time to drop by the lounge even with a wheelchair escort through security and a pretty quick clearance that is no opening bags to explain batteries etc.

The biking I saw was in the Baltics. There is an age limit too.

i think that leg had Bangkok in it. That’s where we had an event. They may try to bring some of the performers onboard instead. Part of the experience though was the facility though. I also remember one evening being cancelled because of rain, I’m not sure where that was but they did manage to bring some performers onboard. The rain had made a muddy mess of the venue, I’m just not sure which leg that was. There were some interesting events at the Hong Kong airport that many were talking about, as in May you live in interesting times! I think those were protester and they were later moved. I hope you are going in a bit early to enjoy the city, there’s a lot to do. as for your status, the loyalty numbers were the same. If they still are you should be good unless the new purchase has changed that.

My impression of the cabins was they seemed small when we first arrived, especially because the entrance seems narrow. But, we found that we had more space for stuff, drawers and hanging. When I first started cruising Azamara I had a rollator that wouldn’t stay folded. We pushed it to the door and could get in most of the closet and the bathroom without moving it! It surprised us that it never seemed in the way, except for an obstructed view we had for 7 day. That was a lateral room and it had a lot of problems! It looks like more floor space but everything opens into it.

Ive never seen points on Azamara accumulated on RCL, just Celebrity. If that’s now true, I’ll turn in my request for the top tier immediately!